We are going on our first ever Walt Disney World vacation and flying with WestJet. I just booked our flights yesterday. WestJet only allows seat selection 24 hrs prior to departure. I am considering doing advance seat selection now and paying for it.

When I called WestJet today, I was told the first 3 rows are "reserved" for special needs passengers at time of boarding so they are not available right now and that it could be possible we could be seated there if the space is available, and not to worry about advance seat selection.

Has anyone ever been able to sit in these rows after notifying the check-in counter of allergies? My daughter is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.

Would you recommend I preselect the seats now? What have others done when flying with WestJet?

Is closer to the front of the plane better? WestJet told me I can only preselect from row 9 onwards at this point since all other front rows are either booked or reserved by the airline. There will be 4 of us flying (DH, DD, DS & I) and I want to make sure we are seated as close together as possible with possibly DD in the window seat and me between the two kids with DH across the aisle. Sorry if these are dumb questions but it is our first flight with the kids! Thanks in advance!

I would look at the aircraft's seat configuration if possible, and pay the extra money to pre-book seats. I wouldn't want the added stress of remembering to do it 24 hrs in advance, and what if a lot of people pre-booked and there were no seats together?

I didn't know about the 1st 3 rows for people with special needs, and have no experience with that. I would probably not rely on that, though, as you have no control over what other people with special needs might book on that flight.

The last 3 trips we have been on, all the planes had 3 seats together and not 4, so we couldn't all be in the same row. This last flight, DH booked it and put the kids in the window and middle, and himself in the aisle, then me across the aisle. One previous flight, I picked further back rows (not as popular) and picked one window and one aisle seat each in two rows in the hopes that nobody would choose the middle seat in each row and we would have two rows to ourselves. It worked on both flights that time, and I would be tempted to do it again as long as I knew it wasn't a popular flight (Spring break or Christmas, etc), although if there turned out to be people in the middle, I'm sure you could switch with one of them to offer an aisle or window and they would be quite happy.

I prebooked my seats with WestJet on our last flights and was glad that I did. It meant not worrying about getting seats we would be comfortable with. We sat in row 7 and were fine. It is also helpful to notify by phone, at checkin and when you preboard. One attendent at checkin even asked for our seat numbers and called ahead to the flight crew so they would expect us.
Pack your own food, lots of wipes and of course the epipens. Enjoy your trip.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I think I will go ahead and pre-select the seats. It doesn't make sense to risk not being able to sit together. Is it obvious I have not flown anywhere in 6 years (since DD was born)? I am really nervous about this and have no idea how it will be!

I am a bit nervous about flying now with the allergy issue. However, as our most severe allergies are peanuts and tree nuts, I was pretty comfortable with West Jet because they didn't serve any of these, and were willing to kindly ask surrounding passengers not to consume.

When I spoke to customer service on the phone for AC this last trip, I was told there were no P/TN served or sold in economy, but only sold in business class, and I was OK with this, as there are their own washrooms and the flight attendants tend to serve one section and not both, plus we were bringing all our own food, etc. However, when I got onto the plane, I realized they were selling cashews in Economy. I was a bit concerned, but not as much as if the whole plane full of people would be served free cashews or peanuts. A flight attendant said she would try to pull these from the cart, but ended up not being able to, and it worked out OK. We kept an eye out for stray nuts, the kids were sheltered by DH in the aisle from people's hands, etc, and we had a bottle of benadryl and 8 epipens with us.

Hope your trip goes well. I'm considering a trip to Disneyland, but am thinking of waiting until next summer when they will be 6 and almost 5.

However, when I got onto the plane, I realized they were selling cashews in Economy. I was a bit concerned, but not as much as if the whole plane full of people would be served free cashews or peanuts. A flight attendant said she would try to pull these from the cart, but ended up not being able to...

I'm picturing a flight attendant trying to wrestle the bags of cashews out of the cart and them clinging for dear life.-"Nooo! We want to be eaten! It is our destiny!":rofl

I prefer WestJet over AC whenever possible because I find it easier to wipe down leather seats over fabric. I imagine nut crumbs in the weave. (paranoid, who me? )

I think all airlines are getting better whether they choose to or not.

Absolutely true - I would much rather fly WJ over AC any day, but DH booked it without consulting with me first, and he said he did it to get enough aeroplan points for us all to fly to Australia, which is a whole other topic of concern! Oz is one of the few places I would take my kids, it being pretty allergy aware and English speaking, etc. There are also flights that do not go through Bangkok or fly with a Thai airline, which I wouldn't do with my kids. Still, it's at least two (or more likely 3) very long flights, with layovers in airports with who knows what type of food available. . . . not sure it would be worth the stress. Disneyland, OTOH, I would be Ok with.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum